Government Investigations & White Collar Crime

In a 2015 directive, the U.S. Attorney General instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to focus greater resources on pursuing individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing. This year’s federal government budget proposal includes a request by the Department of Justice to beef up funding of its law enforcement divisions—a clear indication that heightened scrutiny is on the horizon. Businesses need to be ready with enterprise-wide compliance strategies and resources to respond efficiently and effectively if an investigation or allegation of criminal behavior surfaces.

Key Contacts

We have considerable experience—on both the prosecution and defense sides—helping businesses prepare and respond to investigations or handle a criminal inquiry. Our team includes three former U.S. Attorneys, a former Associate Independent Counsel (Special Prosecutor) in Washington, D.C., a DOJ trial attorney, a former chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska, and several former Assistant U.S. Attorneys. With decades of experience prosecuting and defending actions, we are well known to the courts and federal prosecutors in the Pacific Northwest and have the resources for a vigorous defense in any venue.

We provide counsel on investigations and criminal allegations pertaining to:

Trade secrets theft

Civil penalty actions

Violation of the Economic Espionage Act of 1976

Environmental violations (e.g. Clean Water Act)

Medicare fraud

False Claims

Criminal activity of employees or other company representatives

Criminal securities fraud

Mail/wire fraud

Criminal price fixing

Debarment actions

Export and customs laws and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

RICO

Qui Tam

Our clients represent a broad range of businesses and industries, so we’ve assembled a team with experience across numerous legal practices often needed to conduct internal investigations and respond to allegations: health care, tax, securities, environmental law, intellectual property, marketing and litigation.

We’ll work with you to establish and implement strategies to maintain compliance with regulations relevant to your business. We design and present training programs for employees and managers that include instruction on how to conduct internal investigations, how to respond to an external investigation, and procedures for handling subpoenas, search warrants and other inquiries from investigators. We also delve into company policies and practices to identify and mitigate potential compliance risks.

We aggressively defend you in the event of enforcement actions or criminal proceedings and will help with all aspects of resolution including plea deals, settlement, trial or appeal. We also have resources available to help manage external communications and PR concerns that can arise in high profile cases.

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